


Jailbreak

by SusanMM



Category: Blake's 7
Genre: Action/Adventure, Gen, Mary Sue, Rebellion, Science Fiction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-01
Updated: 2013-06-01
Packaged: 2017-12-13 14:30:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,686
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/825362
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SusanMM/pseuds/SusanMM
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Blake and Avon are Federation prisoners. Can they escape before they are sent back to Earth for trial and execution? Warning, this was my 2nd or 3rd fanfic story, written YEARS ago, and is dreadfully, horribly Mary Sueish. Rated T for language.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Jailbreak

 

**Standard fanfic warning that wouldn't last ten seconds in a court of law.** These aren't my characters. I'm just borrowing them for, um, typing practice. Yeah, that's it, typing practice. Originally published in  Gambit #2, from Peacock Press, back in 1988, edited slightly in 2010. Based on characters and situations created by Terry Nation. There is no intent to infringe on the rights held by the late Terry Nation, his heirs & descendents, the BBC, or any other parties. Be warned, this was my second or third fanfic story, and it's dreadfully, horribly, Mary Sueish.

**Jailbreak**

_Blake's Seven_

by Susan M. M.

 

"Why don't you just say 'I told you so' and get it over with?" Roj Blake asked.

Kerr Avon looked at the bare, windowless walls of the detention cell, the rotating [surveillance camera](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6296129/1/Jailbreak), the archaic metal bars supplementing the force fields. "Is it really necessary?"

"Not really," Blake admitted. "You've been thinking it as loudly as Cally."

Avon raised an eyebrow and smiled humorlessly.

"Jenna will rescue us," Blake assured him. "She'll come."

_Jenna will rescue_ _you_ _,_ Avon thought. Their pilot , ex-smuggler Jenna Stanis, could not care less whether he lived or died, and gave only lip-service to Blake's cause, but Blake -- that was another matter. The brown-haired, brown-eyed [computer programmer](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6296129/1/Jailbreak) wondered if Blake realized just how much Jenna did care about him. _Probably not._

"And how will she know where to come? We were captured on Lahnu," Avon reminded him unnecessarily. "She won't know to look on Devlor."

"Orac can monitor Federation transmissions. They'll track us down -- if we don't manage to escape on our own first."

"Ever the dreamer. "

_Liberator_ 's crew hadn't left much of the Lahnu Starbase standing in one piece; the Federation had been forced to ship the two prisoners off to Devlor V for safekeeping. A battlecruiser was already en route to transport them to Earth for their trials and executions. Supreme Commander Servalan had ordered the battlecruiser, not wanting to risk losing them again.

A Federation trooper walked past their cell and stared with unabashed curiosity. He wasn't the first one, either. Clerks and troopers had found excuses for two days to wander down that particular corridor and gaze at the infamous rebels.

Avon studied the trooper as one might a new species of cockroach. Blake smiled at him politely. The trooper, a young recruit still shaving on an irregular basis, blushed and hurried off.

"We're probably the most exciting thing to happen here in years," Blake noted idly. He ran a hand through his curly dark hair.

"For over eighty years," Avon announced. Blake looked up at him, a silent question in his blue eyes. "That's when the uranium in the asteroids ran out," Avon continued.

"You seem well informed."

"My brother wanted to be a space hero when he was young. I spent my childhood hearing more than I particularly cared for about asteroid mining, deep-space exploration, pirates -- anything Tav though sounded fun and dangerous. The Devlor system fascinated him, since it had miners, pirates, and smugglers. The Devlor asteroid belt was ore-rich; uranium, principally. The fifth planet is the only inhabitable one, so boomtowns grew up here: taverns, brothels, overpriced supply shops. The Federation built a base here when the pirates and smugglers got too thick. When the ore had all been excavated, everything died away. I'm surprised Starfleet still maintains the base here."

**~ B7~ ~ B7 ~ ~ B7 ~ ~ B7 ~ ~ B7 ~ ~ B7 ~**

"Another gawker," Avon muttered.

"Oh?"

"She's been standing in the corner of the corridor for three minutes now. Probably too frightened to come any closer," Avon sneered.

Blake looked towards the bend of the corner. A redhead in her early twenties stood there, barely in his line of sight. _Probably some sort of clerk_ , he thought, since she was wearing civilian clothes.

Or perhaps not.

Followed by a half-squad of guards, the woman boldly approached the cell. One of the guards turned off the force field. the others raised their weapons and aimed at Blake and Avon. The woman stepped toward the plastisteel bars, the keys in her hands.

"No trouble, no tricks," she ordered. Despite her youth, her voice held a note of authority. "Keep quiet."

One guard stepped forward, binders in his hand. The others shifted their aim towards Avon.

"You first, Captain Blake," she instructed. "If you'd be so kind as to cooperate?"

This wasn't the time or place to resist. Blake held out his hands and permitted the trooper to shackle him.

"Sorry," the guard whispered.

Blake looked at him, confused. Federation troops rarely apologized to their captives. But now the guard was fastening another pair of binders around Avon's hands, completely ignoring Blake.

"Time, Siad," one of the guards reminded the young woman nervously.

"I know. Out of here," she ordered.

As they left the detention area, Avon noticed a sign on the wall. 'This corridor off limits to unauthorized personnel by order of the base commander.' It mentioned something about security reasons and had a sloppy signature at the bottom. _Unless it had been put up very recently_ , Avon mused, _the Federation's hired help were either illiterate or disobedient. Probably both._

Siad led the squad and the prisoners down two deserted corridors, then stopped suddenly. "All right, it's safe here. Unlock them." She smiled at her prisoners. "I'm terribly sorry for the inconvenience, gentlemen. But the surveillance cameras are broken here - have been for weeks. This is the first safe place where we could explain things. I'm Siad Norliss. Jeri, get this back before they notice it's missing."

"Right." He took the keys from her, looked at Blake and Avon with an expression of adoration, and left.

"It was safe before, if you weren't such a worrier," one of the guards complained.

"Maybe. And maybe not," she retorted. "We can't afford to take chances."

"Just who are you?" Blake asked.

"Friends, sir. No, Dr. Avon, don't take the binders off, please. We'll need them in a moment."

Blake and Avon were both a trifle surprised by her use of the title. Blake hadn't known that Avon possessed a doctorate, and Avon hadn't been called by it in years.

"We're going to march you out of here as if you were being taken to interrogation. We'll be under observation all the way from here, so appearances are very important. You're tired, you're hungry - try to look a little more hopeless and a bit less like a demi-god."

"What about back at the cell?" Blake asked.

"If everything went according to schedule, exactly ninety seconds before we released you, the surveillance cameras suffered a brief glitch whilst tapes from yesterday were spliced in. If not," Siad sighed, "then I'm the only one compromised."

"Why should we trust you?"Avon demanded.

"Because these weapons are fully charged and I am completely unarmed." Siad nodded at the guards. Two of her men handed Blake and Avon their guns. "Conceal them, please; they're only for direst emergencies. Anything less we'll try to bluff our way out of. Do you have any questions? Once we start, you'll have to be absolutely silent until we're safe."

"We had bracelets," Blake said. "They're very important. Do you know where they're being stored?"

"They've already been sent to Earth for analysis. I'm sorry; the courier left before we could stop him. They were devices for your teleportation system, weren't they?"

Blake nodded. "They were also communicators."

"We'll attempt to contact _Liberator_ once you're safe. Everyone ready? All right, let's go," Siad ordered.

Siad led the squad and the prisoners through the base, using backways and roundabout routes wherever possible. A few people saw them and stared. A few officers nodded to Siad.

"If anything goes wrong," Siad whispered, "take me prisoner. They won't dare to do anything to you if I'm your hostage."

"Why? What makes you so important?"Avon whispered back.

"My father is the base commander."

**~ B7~ ~ B7 ~ ~ B7 ~ ~ B7 ~ ~ B7 ~ ~ B7 ~**

"Is there anything more boring than monitor duty?"Corporal Ulas asked rhetorically.

"Yes," Sergeant Chirras replied. "My wife."

Lieutenant Boyington, fresh from Earth and unused to the informality and lax discipline of the frontier worlds, disapproved of the chatter. "That'll be enough of that," he silenced the men's chuckles. "Eyes on your jobs. Have you actually seen anything you've been watching?"

One of the guards grumbled a little too loudly.

"Did you say something, Rodriguez?" Boyington demanded.

"No, sir," Rodriguez lied.

"Look at me when I speak to you," Boyington ordered harshly. "What did you just see on your screen? Do you even remember?"

"Why, it -- it was the prisoners, sir. Just a prisoner transfer," Rodriguez stammered.

"Which prisoners?" Lt. Boyington asked, a sense of dread coming over him. Like any Starfleet base, Devlor V had prisoners had all times, but only two at present who could make or break a man's career.

"Blake and his accomplice, Lieutenant. It was all in order; see for yourself. Miss Norliss was with them. Taking 'em to her father, I expect."

"Starfleet doesn't pay you to think, Rodriguez, and a good thing, too. Get me Commander Norliss immediately.

**~ B7~ ~ B7 ~ ~ B7 ~ ~ B7 ~ ~ B7 ~ ~ B7 ~**

"Hold it right there!"

Siad looked straight into her father's face. He had two or three of his most trusted lieutenants with him, and far, far too many guards. Letting the fright she felt show on her face, Siad 'tripped' and fell lightly against Blake.

Blake and Avon reacted quickly, without panicking. They threw off the loose [binders](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6296129/2/Jailbreak) and pulled out their guns. Blake grabbed Siad, his arm around her neck.

"Dad, please don't let him hurt me," Siad begged.

"You animal." Commander Norliss' voice was low, and his face was pale. "Let go of my daughter."

"Oh, no, the girl is our guarantee of safe passage out of here. Amazing how cooperative your guards were when we threatened to kill her." Blake smiled. That should protect Siad's accomplices.

"Has he hurt you, Siad?"Commander Norliss asked.

"No, Dad, not -- not yet."

"She won't be hurt ... as long as no one does anything stupid. Unlike the Federation, we don't make a policy of slaughtering innocents."

Avon gave Blake a weary look, as if to say this was hardly an appropriate time for a political debate. "This room is so crowded," Avon purred. "Clear it out. You don't want so many nervous trigger fingers so close to your daughter, now do you, Commander?"

"You heard the man. Out!" Commander Norliss ordered. He wet his lips.

Slowly, the Federation troopers and Siad's henchmen filed out of the room. Siad relaxed slightly, knowing her people would be able to lose themselves in the crowd and escape. Only her father and his officers remained.

"You're supposed to be a reasonable man, Blake. Don't do anything stupid."

"I've already earned the death penalty, Commander. I've got nothing to lose," Blake reminded him.

An intercom sounded. Avon turned to face it, his gun pointed at the lieutenant who answered it.

"Commander, I think you'd better take this call," he said.

"Later, Stickler."

"Commander, it's _Liberator_ ," Lt. Stickler announced.

"Jenna's timing is improving," Avon remarked.

"Put it on speaker, Lieutenant, so we can all hear her," Blake ordered.

Stickler looked toward Norliss for confirmation. At his nod, Stickler adjusted the control panel.

"Devlor Base, this is _Liberator._ If you do not release Blake and Avon immediately, we will destroy your base," Jenna's voice came over the intercom.

"Jenna," Blake addressed her.

"Blake! Is that you? Are you all right?"

"We're fine. Avon and I had just escaped and we were looking for a ride home. Send Gan down with three bracelets, will you?"

"Three?" Jenna queried.

"We're taking a hostage," Blake explained.

"Hostage?" Jenna repeated in astonishment.

"No!" Norliss protested.

"Sorry, Commander, but we really can't afford to have you sending pursuit ships after us. You'll get her back ... if you cooperate."

It took every milligram of Siad's self-control to keep imitating a frightened prisoner and not break into an ear-to-ear, glowing grin.

Norliss, his officers, and Siad stared as Gan and Cally suddenly materialized in the middle of the room. Both had their weapons drawn.

"Cally, could you take charge of our prisoner, please?" Blake asked, fastening his binders around Siad's wrists.

Cally obeyed reluctantly, taking hold of the young woman. The brunette alien telepathed to him, _//Hostage taking isn't your style, Blake. Are you sure you want to do this?//_

"Special circumstances." Blake turned to face Commander Norliss, and his voice was cold and ruthless. "As I said, as long as no one tries anything stupid and heroic, the girl won't be hurt."

"Dad, please do what he wants. I'm scared," Siad lied.

Gan passed teleport bracelets out to Avon and Blake, then placed one on Siad's arm, next to the half-fastened binders.

"Bring us up, Jenna," Blake ordered.

"You bastard" was the last thing the five of them heard as they dematerialized.

**~ B7~ ~ B7 ~ ~ B7 ~ ~ B7 ~ ~ B7 ~ ~ B7 ~**

"We did it!" Siad crowed.

"That we did," Blake confirmed, stepping down from the teleport bay.

"It's easy to tell you're both idealists," Avon complained. "You both have the same stupid grin."

"Olag Gan and Cally of Auron," Siad identified in tones of awe, refusing to let Avon spoil her mood. She slipped the binders off and held out her hand. Not knowing what else to do, and more than a little confused, Gan shook it. "I'm Siad Norliss."

Cally raised an eyebrow. "Curious sort of hostage you've got, Blake."

"Oh, that was just a ruse to keep my father from learning I'm with the Underground," Siad explained.

Tired of the dreamers patting each others' backs, Avon walked over to the wall intercom. "Jenna, we are all safely aboard. Take us out of orbit."

"Right."

Blake looked up at the sound of Jenna's. A sheepish expression crossed his face. He should have thought to do that himself, the moment they'd teleported up.

"However, in protecting my reputation, I'm afraid I've severely damaged yours, Captain Blake. I had no intention of making you look like a kidnapper," Siad apologized.

"It couldn't be helped," Blake told her gently.

"Captain Blake?" Gan asked. Cally, too, seemed interested by Blake's sudden acquisition of the title.

"I am going to the flight deck," Avon announced as he picked up Orac. "Were you planning to remain here all day, or ...?"

"Let me show you our ship," Blake invited.

**~ B7~ ~ B7 ~ ~ B7 ~ ~ B7 ~ ~ B7 ~ ~ B7 ~**

"What's all this nonsense about a hostage?" Jenna asked as they came onto the flight deck. The stranger with them was acting more like a tourist than a prisoner.

"This is Siad Norliss," Blake introduced. "She helped us escape. Unfortunately, her father is the base commander. We had to pretend to take her hostage both to get away and to protect her cover. Siad, this is -"

"Jenna Stanis and Vila Restal," she interrupted. "It's a pleasure to meet you, a pure pleasure. " Siad gazed at _Liberator_ 's flight deck in awestruck admiration. "I never expected to set foot on _Liberator_ until the revolution had been won and she was retired as a museum ship."

Avon raised an eyebrow at that. He had plans of his own for _Liberator_ , and they did not include honorable retirement as some sort of war memorial.

"Your father is the base commander?" Vila asked in amazement.

"Yes, it's most helpful. One of my principal jobs for the underground is passing on troop movements and ship deployments," Siad explained disingenuously.

"A starfleet commander's daughter is the last person I'd expect to be a rebel," Vila persisted.

"Actually, that's why I joined. You're a Delta, Mr. Restal, correct?"

"Right. Except pretty girls always call me Vila, not Mr. Restal."

"Dad's spent most of his career in backwater places like Devlor. Things are looser in the outer worlds, and I always took that looseness for granted. When I was fourteen, he was transferred to Alpha Centauri." Siad paused for breath. "Girls whose fathers were lower-ranking than mine snubbed me, because they were Alphas and I was only a Beta. I didn't like it -- the class system is virtually ignored on frontier planets, and the tight hold it has on the inner worlds shocked me. Then I realized if that's how things were for a Beta, how much worse it must be for the Gamma and Delta kids, and for their parents. It wasn't long after that, Captain Blake, that you first founded the Freedom Party. I listened to smuggled tapes of your speeches, read your pamphlets and essays. I was hooked."

"So young," Blake murmurred.

Jenna turned and looked at him, silently mouthing the word 'captain?'

"I've been a rebel sympathizer for years, but I didn't get actively involved until I went to Earth to go to university. I have a master's degree in economics -- which my father doesn't know, by the way. I was denied entry to the best schools -- they wouldn't even let me take an admissions examination -- because I wasn't an Alpha."

"You haven't told your father about your degree? Why not?" Kerr Avon, Ph. D., asked.

"I hate lying to him, but it's necessary. The less he knows about my political sympathies, the better. And that includes my qualifications for successful rebellion. He thinks I spent the extra two years on Earth getting my teaching certificate and doing my internship as a student teacher."

"You're a teacher?" Gan asked.

"Yes," Siad proudly affirmed. "I am a saboteur of young minds; I teach. As much as I can, I try to show my students that the Federation is not perfect, that other ways are possible. I try to teach them to think instead of blindly accepting. In some ways, it's more important than being a military informant. I have to be very careful, of course, very subtle. Kasabi did the same thing at the Federation Space Academy, and one of her own cadets turned her in."

Siad looked around the flight deck. A career starfleet officer's daughter, she knew ships as well or better than most civilians, and _Liberator_ delighted her. She turned to face Roj Blake. "You're terribly inefficient, of course, but you are magnificent in your inefficiency," she praised.

A chorus of 'whats' and 'huhs" filled the air.

"Destroying the armory at Lahnu -- and half the base -- was a brilliant tactical move, but it's not enough. We need to unite the various rebel groups. Inter-unit communication is practically nonexistent. You could change that with _Liberator_ , and that would advance the cause of freedom much more than the occasion bits of sabotage and destruction," she continued.

"We destroy more in a month than your petty underground cabals can manage in a year," Jenna reminded her. No one criticized her ship and lived to tell of it.

"I thought the idea of the rebellion was to build anew, and not to destroy," Siad replied mildly. "Don't mistake me, sir, you're doing a marvelous job at what you're doing. People need symbols and heroes. You're an inspiration to the entire underground, and you prove to the populace at large that the Federation is neither invulnerable nor omnipotent. You may well be of more use as a symbol than you were in the old days as a leader and strategist. But it would be nice if you could manage to combine both roles. "

Blake was stunned. He had no answer for her.

"Would it be possible to get a tour of the ship before you have to send me back?" Siad asked, changing the subject. "And perhaps you could explain your plans for after the Federation is destroyed, so I can pass them on to my people and our contacts in some of the other groups. Have you worked out the format of the new government yet: franchise, representation, taxation, etc? Not to mention figuring out a way to deal with the bureaucratic headaches and public protests when we abolish the class system and slavery. We've got so much to do."

Vila didn't like the slightly surprised look on Blake's face, as though abolishing the class system had never crossed his mind.

"Just what are you planning to tell your father if and when we do return you?" Avon demanded.

"That I saw absolutely nothing but the corridor and an empty cabin." Siad ignored the 'if.' "You locked me up and left me alone until you sent me back. After that, I will take to my bed and indulge in a fit of feminine hysterics until I've had a chance to learn just what Dad does and doesn't know, about your escape, and match my lies to fit his information."

She sighed. "It's a pity I'll have to go home so soon, but Dad'll be frantic with worry. And he's sure to catch it from Starfleet High Command for letting you escape. I've very likely ruined his career. He'll certainly be reprimanded, possibly court-martialed, demoted, or forced to resign. I may even have signed his death warrant," she realized somberly.

"The Federation will surely appreciate that, under the circumstances, he couldn't have acted in any other way," Blake tried to reassure her. "Not with an innocent civilian -- his own daughter -- being held hostage."

"Supreme Commander Servalan might disagree with you, sir. She would have expected him to shoot through me, if necessary, to get you. And I can understand that. I had similar orders from my unit commander." Siad looked up at Blake and Avon, for whom she'd risked so much. "I lied to you. I'm not unarmed. Your rescue was top priority. We need you. If necessary, I would have compromised my identity, my men, our entire unit, destroyed half the base to get you out of there before your transport to Earth arrived. Had it been necessary, I would have shot Dad to rescue you. I had very strict orders."

"Your own father?" Gan was shocked.

Vila asked sympathetically, "Who was heartless enough to give you orders like that?"

"Oh, that's the worst part, Mr. Restal," Siad said. "I'm the unit commander."

**~ B7~ ~ B7 ~ ~ B7 ~ ~ B7 ~ ~ B7 ~ ~ B7 ~**

**~ B7~ ~ B7 ~ ~ B7 ~ ~ B7 ~**

**~ B7 ~ ~ B7 ~**

**~ B7 ~**

**~ B7 ~**


End file.
